The Daily Ranker: The 10 best seasons by an NFL running back

We sought to rank the 10 best seasons ever produced by an NFL running back.

It is not an easy task considering all the variables at play, including very different eras.

We also looked at total yards, yards per carry, touchdowns, individual honors and other factors to compile our list.

Look at the list!

1. 1997 Barry Sanders (lions) – 2,053 yards on 335 carries (6.13 yards per carry), 11 rushing touchdowns

Achievements in 1997: NFL MVP, NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, NFL Rushing Title

Why this season is the best

Barry Sanders had many incredible seasons, but this one stands out among any other season in NFL history. Sanders rushed for just 53 yards in his first two games before closing with exactly 2,000 yards in his final 14 games.

Sanders earned co-MVP honors (shared with Brett Favre) and also won the NFL rushing title and AP Offensive Player of the Year. To this day, he is the only Lion to win the league’s MVP honor.

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Sanders tallied 14 games with 100 or more rushing yards, the most in a single season in NFL history.

2. 1963 Jim Brown (brown) – 1,863 yards on 291 carries (6.4 yards per carry), 12 rushing touchdowns

Achievements in 1963: NFL Player of the Year, 2nd MVP, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, rushing title, led NFL in rushing attempts, led NFL in rushing touchdowns

Why this season is great

The greatest running back of all time put together one of the greatest seasons of all time due to his astonishing 6.4 yards per carry average. That, to this day, is the highest among all running backs in a single season with a minimum of 200 attempts. This was also Brown’s fifth rushing title in seven seasons.

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Brown is the ONLY running back in NFL history to average 6 yards per carry or more in a single season (minimum 200 attempts) AND compile 15 total touchdowns in the same season.

3. 2012 Adrian Peterson (vikings) – 2,097 yards on 348 carries (6.03 yards per carry), 12 rushing touchdowns

Achievements in 2012: NFL MVP, NFL Player of the Year, NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, rushing title, led the NFL in rushing yards per game

Why this season is great

Peterson had some notable careers, but this season was his best with a career-high 2,097 rushing yards in a single season, just 9 yards behind Eric Dickerson for the most in a single season. AP posted a ridiculous average of 141 rushing yards per game in his final 10 regular season games to move him closer to the all-time mark. He also saved the best for last, rushing for 199 yards in the regular season finale against the Packers, as the Lions needed a win to make the playoffs.

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Since 1991, Adrian Peteron is the ONLY player in the NFL to have 25 or more carries of 20+ yards in a single season, recording 27 such carries in 2012. The next closest was Chris Johnson in 2009, who had five. fewer carries (22). ).

4. 1984 Eric Dickerson (rams) – 2,105 yards on 379 carries (5.55 yards per carry), 14 rushing touchdowns

Achievements in 1984: 2nd in NFL MVP, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, rushing title, led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, led the NFL in rushing yards per game

Why this season is great

The reasoning here is simple: Dickerson has the most rushing yards in a single season in NFL history. No other player has reached 2,100 rushing yards. Additionally, he also had 12 games with 100 or more rushing yards, tied for the second-most games in a single season in NFL history.

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In the history of the Rams franchise, there have only been two seasons in which a running back has played 10 or more games with 100 rushing yards: Eric Dickerson has both (12 in 1984 and 11 in 1986).

5. 1999 Marshall Faulk (Rams): 1,381 yards on 253 carries (5.46 yards per carry), 7 rushing touchdowns; 87 receptions, 1,048 rec yards, 5 rec TDs

Achievements in 1999: 2nd in NFL MVP, NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, led NFL in points scored

Why this season is great

Faulk was the first true running back who could run and catch. The offense was designed for him to excel in both areas, leading him to become the first running back in NFL history to record 1,000 rushing yards, 1,000 receiving yards and maintain an average of over 5 yards per carry. He boosted the Rams’ offense, helping them accumulate 83 more points than any other team on the season (526 points).

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To this day, Marshall Faulk is the only running back to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season and maintain a yards per carry average of 5 or more.

6. 1998 Terrell Davis (Broncos) – 2,008 yards on 392 carries (5.12 yards per carry), 21 rushing touchdowns

Achievements in 1998: NFL MVP, NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, Rushing Title, Led NFL in Rushing TDs, Led NFL in Rushing Yards Per Game

Why this season is great

Easy. Marking machine. Davis recorded 21 rushing touchdowns and 23 total touchdowns in 1998. For context, no other running back had ever reached 15 rushing touchdowns in a 2,000-yard season. Additionally, if playoff games are included, Davis had 2,476 rushing yards, the most of any player when including the playoffs in a single season.

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If Terrell Davis did not play in the final five games of the 1998 regular season, he would still hold the Broncos’ single-season rushing touchdowns record.

7. 1973 O.J. Simpson (Invoices) – 2,003 yards on 332 carries (6.03 yards per carry), 12 rushing touchdowns

Achievements in 1973: NFL MVP, NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, rushing title, led the NFL in rushing attempts, led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, led the NFL in rushing yards per game, led the NFL in all-purpose yards

Why this season is great

Simpson was a dynamic running back and this season was one of three in NFL history in which a player rushed for 2,000 yards AND maintained a yards per carry average of 6 or more. He was also the first to do so, with Barry Sanders (1997) and Adrian Peterson (2012) not arriving until later. Additionally, he was the first running back to have three or more games in a single season with over 200 rushing yards.

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OJ always started fast, but he was on another level at the beginning of the season. His 1,025 rushing yards through the first seven weeks of the 1973 season are the MOST in seven weeks of any season in NFL history. Only three players have had 1,000 rushing yards through the first seven weeks in a single season and OJ has two of them (1,011 Jim Brown 1958, 1,025 Simpson 1973, 1,005 Simpson 1975).

8. 2006 LaDainian Tomlinson (Chargers) — 1,815 yards on 348 carries (5.22 yards per carry) 28 TD carries, 508 rec yards, 3 rec TDs

Achievements in 2006: NFL MVP, NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, rushing title, led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, led the NFL in rushing yards per game, led the NFL in points scored

Why this season is great

LT did it all in 2006 and his 28 rushing touchdowns remain the most in a single season in NFL history. Additionally, no other Charger has even had 20 rushing touchdowns in a season. Tomlinson is also the only player in NFL history to have 1,800 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns and 500 receiving yards, all in the same season.

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Tomlinson had five games scoring three or more rushing touchdowns in 2006, the most such games in a single season in NFL history.

9. 2009 Chris Johnson (Titans) — 2,006 yards on 358 carries (5.60 yards per carry), 14 TD carries, 503 rec yards, 2 rec TDs

Achievements in 2009: NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, rushing title, led the NFL in rushing attempts, led the NFL in rushing yards per game

Why this season is great

Johnson was just the sixth to surpass 2,000 rushing yards when it happened, and he did it with a huge workload. Including receptions, he surpassed 400 total touches (408 to be exact) despite weighing less than 200 pounds. Johnson also recorded five carries of 50-plus yards, nearly double the highest single-season record in NFL history.

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Chris Johnson finished 2009 with 11 consecutive games of 100 or more rushing yards, tied for most with Barry Sanders (11 in 1997).

10. 2005 Shaun Alexander (sea ​​hawks) – 1,880 yards on 370 carries (5.08 yards per carry), 27 rushing touchdowns

Achievements in 2005: NFL MVP, NFL AP OPOY, Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, rushing title, led the NFL in rushing attempts, led the NFL in rushing TDs, led the NFL in rushing yards per game, led the NFL in T.D.

Why this season is great

Score! Alexander had 27 rushing touchdowns, at the time tying Chiefs RB Priest Holmes’ 2003 record for most in a season. He also had 14 carries of 20+ yards in 2005, the most of any player with 25 touchdown carries in a single season.

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Shaun Alexanders’ 27 rushing touchdowns are 11 more than any other Seahawks player has totaled in a single season in franchise history.